Friday, 17 March 2017

Our Lady of Knock and the Opening of the Sealed Book

In the new edition of my book Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church, I attempt to show how the apparitions which took place at Knock, in County Mayo in Ireland in 1879, were intended to announce the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals described in the Apocalypse. During these apparitions, the Blessed Virgin appeared alongside the Lamb of Revelation, together with St. Joseph and St. John. The presence of the author of the Book of Revelation together with Christ in the form of the Lamb of God gives us a strong connotation that this apparition is apocalyptic in character, and that it was chiefly concerned with the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals described in Rev 5:

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Rev 5:1-5)

Later in the Apocalypse, we are told that the scroll of the seven seals was given to St. John the Apostle so that he could consume the Word of God:

Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.” (Rev 10:8-11)

One of the eyewitnesses to the Knock apparition, Mary Byrne, had described St. John as holding an open book in his hands during this vision:

The figure before me on this present occasion of which I am speaking had a book in the left hand, as I stated, and the index finger and the middle finger of the right hand raised, as if he were speaking, and impressing some point forcibly on an audience. It was this coincidence of figure and pose that made me surmise, for it is only an opinion, that the third figure was that of St. John, the beloved disciple of Our Lord…

Therefore the theme of the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals is a predominant feature of the Knock apparition, and the entire symbolism of this vision must be understood within this context. In my book, I argue that the opening of the scroll of the seven seals described in the Apocalypse is synonymous with the unbinding of Satan at the end of the “thousand years” described in Rev 20, and that the appearance of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse during the opening of the sealed book was directly related to the “wars and rumours of wars” mentioned in the Olivet discourse, which Christ said must take place before His Second Coming. So the Knock apparition appears to be intimately connected to the vision of Pope Leo XIII, wherein the Holy Father was made to understand that Satan was to be granted a period of greater power. A period which not only encompassed the turmoil of the 20th century, but which was also marked by one of the most remarkable events in Church history – the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima and the occurrence of the Miracle of the Sun.

On the exact same day of the Knock apparition, on Aug 21st, 1879, Pope Leo XIII had granted a canonical coronation of the icon at the Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette, which was solemnly performed by the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert, who acted as Papal legate. This coronation took place 33 years after the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette in 1846. So while the icon of Our Lady of was being formally crowned at La Salette, Our Lady of Knock (who is recognized by the Irish as Queen of Ireland) appeared together with the Lamb of Revelation in order to announce the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals.

But what exactly is the bridging connection between the apparitions of Our Lady of Our Lady at La Salette and those at Knock? The reason the Blessed Virgin decided to appear in County Mayo during this canonical coronation appears to directly linked with the public message Our Lady gave to Melanie Calvat and Maximin Giraurd at La Salette, which foretold the Potato Famine that would have devastating consequences for the population of Ireland:

Come near, my children, be not afraid; I am here to tell you great news.If my people will not submit, I shall be forced to let fall the arm of my Son. It is so strong, so heavy, that I can no longer withhold it. For how long a time do I suffer for you! If I would not have my Son abandon you, I am compelled to pray to him without ceasing; and as to you, you take not heed of it.However much you pray, however much you do, you will never recompense the pains I have taken for you. Six days I have given you to labor, the seventh I had kept for myself; and they will not give it to me. It is this which makes the arm of my Son so heavy. Those who drive the carts cannot swear without introducing the name of my Son. These are the two things which makes the arm of my Son so heavy.If the harvest is spoilt, it is all on your account. I gave you warning last year with the potatoes but you did not heed it. On the contrary, when you found the potatoes spoilt, you swore, you took the name of my Son in vain. They will continue to decay, so that by Christmas there will be none left. Ah, my children, do you not understand? Well, wait, I shall say it otherwise.If you have wheat, it is no good to sow it; all you sow the insects will eat, and what comes up will fall into dust when you thresh it. There will come a great famine. Before the famine comes, the children under seven years of age will be seized with trembling and will die in the hands of those who hold them; the others will do penance by the famine. The walnuts will become bad, and the grapes will rot.

[Here the two private messages were given to Mélanie and Maximin.]

If they are converted, the stones and rocks will change into mounds of wheat, and the potatoes will be self-sown in the land.

The Blessed Virgin has appeared to mark some of the most notorious instances of genocide in history, most notably those at Fatima, which coincided with the rise of Soviet Communism and the countless deaths that would ensue under militant atheism. Her appearances at Beauraing and Banneux in 1933 had coincided with the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, while those at Kibeho in 1981 augured the Rwandan Genocide. The apparitions of Our Lady at Zeitoun in Egypt in 1968 were similarly related to the modern day “slaughter of the innocents” in the holocaust of abortion. So Our Lady had appeared at Knock in order to mark the atrocity that was perpetrated against the Catholics of Ireland by the British Government, who exploited the events of the Famine as a means of kerbing the growth of the Irish population, in much the same way the Soviets had used the Holodomor to deplete the population of ethnic Ukrainians.

When we turn back to the opening of the scroll of the seven seals, we find that the theme of St. John being urged to eat the little scroll is rooted in the Book of Ezekiel:

“But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them." (Ezek 2:19-3:4)

The Prophet Ezekiel was similarly commanded to eat a scroll containing the Word of God when he was commissioned to prophesy to the people of Israel, warning them of their fate. Immediately after Ezekiel eats the little scroll, he was then taken to the exiles at the Chebar Canal:

Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me. And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days. (Ezek 3:12-15)

The Chebar Canal is a location found along the River Euphrates, where Ezekiel was granted his vision of the Four Living Creatures in Ezek 1 – the four cherubim who restrain the appearance of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse until the opening of the seven seals. As I show in the book, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are one and the same as the “four angels bound at the great river Euphrates” mentioned in Rev 9, who are released to kill a third of “the people” (i.e. a third of the world’s Jewish population during the Holocaust):

Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of [the people]. (Rev 9:13-15)

We are told that the four angels bound at the Euphrates are released after the appearance of the other signs which herald the unbinding of Satan at the end of the “thousand years” – the star falling to earth with the keys to the abyss and the rise of the apocalyptic locusts (which I argue refers to the Tunguska event and the invention of military airplanes). The Prophet Ezekiel was shown a vision of the Four Living creatures who restrain these fallen angelic beings at the Chebar Canal, which has been idenfied with the Khabur River in modern Syria - one of the largest tributaries to the River Euphrates. The exact spot where the Khabur River flows into the Euphrates lies at the site of Deir ez-Zor, which was the major concentration camp used by the Turkish government during the Armenian Genocide, which began in 1915. As I detail in Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church, it was the Armenian Genocide that the provided the Nazis with the template for perpetrating the Jewish Holocaust, when a third of the world's total Jewish population was exterminated by Nazi Germany.

Another link between the Jewish Holocaust and the appearance of Our Lady at Knock can be found in the fact that the apparitions took place at around the same time of the discovery and subsequent excavation of the Pergamon Altar in 1879 – which is the “throne of Satan” described in Rev 2:12-13. The Pergamon Altar was first erected in Berlin at the turn of the century, in 1900 – at the very beginning of the period of Satan’s greater power.

It thus seems to be of great significance that the upcoming total solar eclipse that will traverse America later this year takes place on the feast day of Our Lady of Knock, on 21st August, 2017. As I attempt to elaborate in the previous post, The Sign of Jonah and the Binding of Satan, another of the signs which heralded the beginning of the short time of Satan occurred on the feast day of Our Lady of Knock. The path of totality of the solar eclipse of 21st August, 1914 made its way across war-torn eastern Europe before crossing the site of ancient Nineveh. This was especially significant in the fact that there is evidence to suggest that the original “sign of Jonah” took the form of the Bur Sagle eclipse over Nineveh in 763BC, and that Christ had made His prophecy about the sign of Jonah in the immediate context of the binding of Satan.

The proximity of the August 21st solar eclipse in relation to the so-called “Rev 12 sign” that will take place later this year on 23rd September, 2017, gives us pause for thought. This date marks the culmination of an astronomical event which began on 20th November 20, 2016, when Jupiter (the King planet) entered into the body of the constellation Virgo. This date, which commemorated the feast of Christ the King, also saw the Polish Church and government officially proclaim Christ as King of Poland at the end of the Year of Mercy, styled after the canonical coronation of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa as Queen of Poland.

Due its retrograde motion, Jupiter will spend 9 ½ months within the “womb” of Virgo, until 23rd September, after which it will then be “birthed” by exiting with the Sun rising directly behind the constellation Virgo, with the Moon laying at its feet and a crown of twelve stars (the nine stars of the constellation Leo together with the planets Mercury, Venus and Mars).

If the American eclipse of 21st August, 2017 is indeed part of a “sign of Jonah” sequence related to this event, serving as a prophetic warning to the people of America, it is tempting to place it in relation to the words of the Prophet Jonah himself:

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. (Jon 3:1-5)

It appears that the Ninevites only believed in Jonah’s prophecy of doom after the appearance of the Bur Sagle Eclipse. So, it will be interesting to see if anything happens around the time of the 21st August solar eclipse to act as a call to repentance for America. It is worth pointing out that exactly 40 days after the date of 21st August brings us up to the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel on 29th September, 2017, which coincides this year with the Jewish feast of Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. According to Jewish tradition, Yom Kippur is the date when the verdict of judgement against a person is sealed at the close of the year, after the opening of the Book of Life takes place at the beginning of the year, on Rosh Hashanah.

The feast of Yom Kippur also happens to be one of the central features of the Third Secret of Fatima, which describes two angels gathering up the blood of the martyrs and sprinkling it on the souls of those making their way to heaven. This imagery explicitly evokes the sprinkling of the sacrificial blood on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant by the Jewish High Priest on the Feast of Yom Kippur, as is detailed in the Book of Leviticus:

And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins.

(Lev 16:14-16)

After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: 'Penance, Penance, Penance!'. And we saw in an immense light that is God: 'something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White 'we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God. Tuy-3-1-1944.(The Third Secret of Fatima)

So not only does the feast of Yom Kippur occur exactly 40 days after the “sign of Jonah” eclipse on 21st August, 2017, but it also occurs on the Feast of St. Michael – the angel with the flaming sword seen in the Third Secret of Fatima. Could something of prophetic importance transpire around these dates just before the centenary of the Miracle of the Sun on 13th October, 2017? It is tempting to think so, given the apparent sensus fidelium that appears to have been arrived at concerning the significance of the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. Especially when we take the various other accompanying “signs” that appear to be settling around these dates.

118 comments:

I have to admit, Emmett, that I begin to feel "crowded". I don't know how else to say it. That something is coming, and we're getting crowded into that something very rapidly. Tense. A shortage of time, and a wish that time would move a wee bit faster.

I don't know exactly how to put it into words. But I've also felt a certain joy recently, that I haven't felt in a long time.

Thank you, Emmett, for this intriguing post. The Ark of the Covenant is also a "type" of Mary. She bore in herself the presence of God Incarnate. The Visitation account has several similarities to the time when David danced before the Ark. The mercy seat represents the sacrifice of Jesus and the importance of the Mass. Knock has many liturgical aspects. Since the eclipse will be in the US, it is interesting that here, Aug 21 is the feast of St Pius X, the Pope of frequent Communion. My to ponder in all this.

Also, Aug 22 is the feast of the Queenship of Mary, a week after the Assumption. On the Assumption we have the reading from the Apocalypse about the ark of the Covenant seen in heaven, and the woman of chapter 12. The woman "clothed with the sun" and on her head a crown of 12 stars. Sounds like an eclipse

Another interesting convergence in October will be the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Revolt, the 300th anniversary of the beginning of the Freemasons, the 100th anniversary of the Communist revolution, and of course the 100th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun. ( And the 133rd anniversary of the supposed locution to Pope Leo XIII of Our Lord and the boast of satan to destroy Christ's Church.)

I am in awe of Christ's mercy and wonder daily why anyone would not want to be Catholic; the religion contains all one would ever need. I await the permanent sign that Mary has promised to leave in Medjugorje. I visited Knock and wish that I could be witness to an apparition of our Blessed Mother, but I believe that is reserved for the most innocent among us.

On the inside of St. John the Baptist Church...now, of course, known as "Knock Shrine" ...at the time of the famous Apparitions ,and still there are the words..."My House shall be called A HOUSE OF PRAYER to all nations only the just shall enter Her gates"...John the evangelist is known as the Eagle as his Gospel Flys higher than the others...and just down the road from Knock shrine in Co. Mayo on Achill island ...note Achill means Eagle...stands Our Lady queen of peace HOUSE OF PRAYER...requested by Our Lady wherein She stated She would be present there....with Her many angels interceding for Her children. Been there many times...for me it's so clear the correlation not quite sure why so many miss it.

"With the Iraqi army currently undertaking an operation to take back the city of Mosul from ISIS, it is somewhat timely"

The date of your current post, Friday 17-Mar-2017, coincides exactly with a major offensive by ISIS which targeted the Al-Hawiqah District of Deir Ezzor City this past Friday. However they were largely rebuffed, and large portions of Western Deir Ezzor have been reclaimed by the Syrian Arab Army.

Mark L, I found it a striking coincidence that ISIS was formed just a month after my original discovery that the path of totality of the 1999 solar eclipse had directly traversed Mosul/Nineveh. http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-sign-of-jonah.html Although it existed prior to this under a different name, it was only after its expansion in Syria in April 2013 that the group adopted the name ISIS. Just over a year later ISIS captured Mosul and destroyed the tomb of the Prophet Jonah. Also the original group that eventually became ISIS, Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, was formed in 1999!

Obviously this was just pure coincidence on my part though. I quite unintentionally made the discovery that the 1999 solar eclipse crossed the site of ancient Nineveh after being prompted by the commentator using the name "Federal Expression" on the following post: http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/signs-in-sky.html

And so..armed with all of this information..what are we to do?All that is to take place is in the Hands of God..I for one hope God does intervene in the world for the sake of all souls..especially children...how much more can we go on like this..how much longer can God sit and watch as we head knowingly toward doom.I reckon that the day of enlightenment(where God will show everyone the state of their souls will be the first event)followed by the chastisement (three days of darkness if we fail to repent )All in all..I can't worry about any of these things..it is out of our control..all we can do is take each day given to us one day at a time..worrying solves nothing.

I am sure that in the Book of Revelation at some point it says in relation to the Seven Seals that 'There Was Silence in Heaven.'

Another very huge coincidence with Knock is that those who witnessed the Apparition all stated not a word was spoken by the figures in the Apparition itself. This seems to indicate that the silence was in itself a message. For it would indicate that 'There Was Silence in Heaven.' Another uncanny coincidence.

I have read right through the article and comments, and can't remember this very relevant aspect being mentioned as far as I can recall.

All very convincing Emmett. And what's even more interesting is that the birthplace of Christianity in Syria is currently under proxy assault by the Anti-christian, Freemason forces who currently have control of the West. Only Orthodox Russia has come to the defense of the persecuted Catholics in Syria. This development makes no sense to the secular apostates who control the once-Christian West. But to those of us who have followed Fatima with an unbiased mind, we now understand why Our Lady wanted Russia consecrated: it wasn't so that Russia would be delivered to the West, rather it was because Russia would play a decisive role in defending the Remnant from the persecution of the Apostate West. Although I remain hopeful for an Illumination of conscience moment to take place later this year, I think all APPROVED private revelation points to a chastisement instead. Given the West's decades of unjust warmongering, it will have been long overdue.

Another interpretation, Emmett, is that the events currently taking place are not the literal Seven Seals themselves, but rather types of the Seven Seals, in much the same way that Nero and Antiochus Epiphanes were not the literal Antichrist but rather types of the Antichrist. I think this interpretation would make much more sense given that if the final, endtime Seven Seals were literally taking place right now, I think the cosmic upheaval would be much more literal. Christ described a literal cosmic upheaval that must take place before the Second Coming. I'm not sure the Tunguska Event and modern airplanes fit that bill; although they may certainly be types of the Seals, I don't think they qualify as the literal Seals themselves. Also, if the Seven Seals are literally being unsealed in our time then we must see the appearance of the final Antichrist soon. But he has not made his appearance nor have the Two Witnesses appeared to counter him. Those things must occur before the Second Coming. Yet, we are seeing a type of the Antichrist's final persecution in the ongoing martydom in Syria. I just don't think it is the final, endtime persecution of the Antichrist.

Here's a little food for thought that I just realized. Here we are in a year when the path of totality runs across America. Let's take a look at something that's happening in America right now, that mainstream media are playing down, but Christian organizations are warning everyone about left, right, and center: the Satanic Temple. These folks started coming out of the woodwork a few years ago, first scheduling Black Masses at large public venues. (Yep, they were the folks behind the Harvard fiasco too.) Last year they started up two "After-School Satan Clubs" for elementary schoolchildren, aged 5 through 9. Two were established in California last year, one in LA and the other in Sacramento. Just last night I read that the Temple is taking a school disctrict in Georgia to court for refusing them access to an elementary school there. (We're actually waiting for that situation to explode - Georgia is "Bible-thumper" territory - no derogation intended).

In a nation that has strictly forbidden even the vaguest hints of religion is a public venue, they are allowing Satanism - officially a religion itself, mind you - into public schools.

"I think this interpretation would make much more sense given that if the final, endtime Seven Seals were literally taking place right now, I think the cosmic upheaval would be much more literal."

Why?

A couple of years ago in another combox discussion here, someone asked about the sign of the cross that will appear in the sky later this year. They said something like, "now, when will there be a sign of the cross in the sky that we can all see." An odd question, don't you think, given that the sign of the cross coming later this year will be there for everyone to see. All they have to do is look.

Why would these signs be obvious and literal? In fact, I think a case can be made for the idea that they CANNOT be literal and obvious. Making them too obvious might negate free will, or at least contaminate it a great deal. Sure, there could be a literal sign of the cross in the sky, but I don't think an obvious or literal sign is required

You are arguing from the same playbook as the reductionists who argue that the Star of Bethlehem was simply some sort of regularly occuring phenomenon when it was clearly a supernatural event. Or those who argue that the parting of the Red Sea was merely a tidal event. Or the Plagues of Egypt were naturally-explained phenomena. Or that the Resurrection was just a mythological, metaphorical event.

But I know better and the Church Fathers knew better. Those events were literal, supernatural events. The endtime sequence of events will involve literal, supernatural events like a literal, personal Antichrist or like a supernatural Cross appearing in the sky. Jesus even confirmed this event to Saint Faustina in an approved private revelation.

Anonytroll, you're way, way off. I don't see the mechanics of the universe as anything but divinely driven. The fact that, at the creation of the universe, the planets were setup to align just so on a particular date is of great significance. A reductionist would blame this all on coincidence - as someone else stated here not long ago - a mere natural phenomena. I'm saying that it's divinely driven, so you call me a reductionist. Charming. I'm also saying that it's a possibility...one of may. One of countless possibilities. You don't know any better than I do what will or will not happen. Once upon a time, this place was convenient for such discussion. (You must be from the mothe-of-god forum.)

You seem dedicated to arguing. So be it. I'm tired, I don't want to argue with you anymore, and you never seem to have much more than your own ego behind your comments. You ruin the exchange of ideas by calling me a reductionist. That's rubbish. To say that I'm in the camp that would suggest the Resurrection was just metaphorical is offensive. But you win. I give up.

One last thing - whatever we assume, I'm fairly certain that God will find a different way to do it, just to keep us on our toes.

I must have struck quite a nerve if you immediately defaulted to calling me a troll. Not sure what this "motherofgod" forum is or why you are so antagonistic. Calling me an "anonytroll" is childish. For all I know you are a troll and are not really named Mark W. What counts is the content of the discussion. If I had a google account or an open id or a url I would post under one of those options. The "Anonymous" option is the only one I can access and yet you have the nerve to call me a troll. Get a grip on yourself "Mark W."

I brought up the Star of Bethelehem because the Sacred Scriptures AND Sacred Tradition state clearly that the Star of Bethlehem was just that, namely, a star. It wasn't a planet or a series of planets. It wasn't a meteor or a comet. The Bible says it was a star. Now I do not doubt that the good Lord arranged that the natural formation of stars and planets in the heavens would be arranged in such a way as to announce in the heights the birth of the Savior. At the same time, however, it is very disappointing that we always seek to explain naturally and scientifically the wonderful works of God. In this modern age, we feel better about ourselves and the Faith when things can be scientifically explained. We feel more modern...more enlightened...more assured. But Tradition states that the Star of Bethlehem cannot be naturally explained away, but rather was a special miraculous star created for the sole purpose of leading the Three Kings and the Gentile peoples to the Christ Child.

I don't doubt your motives, Mark W, but your idea that supernatural events mentioned in the Bible - like the Seven Seals, or the Star of Bethelehem, or the cosmic upheaval that Christ prophesied during the Olivet Discourse - can be explained as merely coincidental natural phenomenon that God "allows" to happen, is an idea right out of the Materialist, Freemason playbook: they like to reduce clearly supernatural events in Sacred History to coinicdental natural events that can be explained by science. I'm sure your motives are pure Mark W, but you have unwiittingly introduced an argument that has no place in the Catholic consciousness.

There's a documentary titled "Star of Bethlehem" by Frederick Larson that gives a convincing account of exactly what the star was. At the end of the documentary, he talks about other great events that line up with the signs in the heavens. This documentary can also help shed light on future events. I think we should keep our eyes looking upward. God bless.

Like many others I too have a "sense" that time is quickening and that we are moving toward an event this year. I think this analysis is very interesting and compelling. I'm not sure if this adds anything to it at all, but I believe Sep. 23rd is also the feast of St. Padre Pio. I wonder if that too is a sign in that this much beloved Saint who was not just a stigmatic, but to me always connected to confession and reconciliation? Will something occur that will cause people to return in great number to Confession? I await and pray.

Years ago, when I was a kid, my school showed a movie about Fatima. I don't remember the name of it now, but it was actually a fairly famous Hollywood production. The movie featured ACTUAL FILM FOOTAGE of the Miracle of the Sun..I recently heard in a recorded lecture given by the late Fr. Malachi Martin that while that footage was shown in newsreels all around the world, never once, except in that movie, was it ever seen here in America. While the existence of truly faithful Catholic journalism at the time makes that a little difficult to believe, the quality of film in general, and of "special effects" in particular - such as they were at the time the movie was made - made it hard even for moviegoers of the day to pick out the actual footage from the movie footage, so its easy to see how those who didn't want to believe this up-in-your-face sign was nothing more than a special effect Later scientists came up with the hypothesis of "group hypnosis" (or hysteria, depending on whose paper you read) to explain it. .Yes, the sign may be something that, as John says in the Apocalypse, requires wisdom to understand. It may equally be something undeniable...but man will find a way to deny it anyway, just as he always has. This is why we are told that people will be marrying and giving in marriage right up until the moment it happens.

Just to share another bit of information, the potato famine is also sometimes called the European Potato Failure and also caused starvation in France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Potato_Failure

You may also be interested to know that the apparition in Knock was not one that could only be seen by "seers" but could be seen by any passersby. It occurred on the day that Father Cavanaugh finished his pledge of 100 masses for souls of those who died in the great huger who were in purgatory. Father Cavanaugh was in the church and did not see the heavenly tableau.

You wrote that the 6th trumpet describes WW2, and I also think that it describes possibly WW1 & WW2 in combination. I think there is a good story to explain that the 5th trumpet describes the period from 1650-1800.

Let's say I give you the benefit of the doubt. There was a poster here - anonymous, of course - that I/we had a conversation with recently...over several months actually, since Stephen and Emmett got banned from the mother of god forum. To try and get him/her to put a name on their posts, any name, I told him I was just going to start calling him anonytroll. Your tone and attitude are the same, so if it's a case of mistaken identity my apologies. But you have to admit that there's not much to go on and mistaken identity is easy when someone refuses to put a name to their comments. I sincerely wish Emmett could fix that. And my surrender was because I'd just been through the same kind of conversation with the guy, and here he is again...spouting the same stuff. It's really getting out of hand. I get tired of the nonsense from people that won't even post a name or initials or even a fake handle.

" If I had a google account or an open id or a url I would post under one of those options. The "Anonymous" option is the only one I can access and yet you have the nerve to call me a troll."

With due respect, this is lame. Look at some of the other comments here. JMC posts anonymously, but manages to put his initials at the bottom of his comments. So does Greg. If I'm right, you remain anonymous because it gives you courage. If I'm wrong, prove it. Put some initials at the bottom of your comments. Anything will do, just so that those of us that are here legitimately have something to compare with other comments, and can tell whose comments go to which author.

"For all I know you are a troll and are not really named Mark W."

Emmett knows my name. I've been posting here for three or four years, so everyone else here knows me too. My first name is Mark. My last name begins with a W. That's really all you need. But you can always identify my comments.

The reason I think you might be the other anonytroll is because you've failed to read my comments - a classic troll problem - they can't read. I specifically said that it is not a coincidence - I even said that I don't believe in any coincidences on this particular subject. I also specifically said that it was not a simple natural cause. But God has proven that he uses the material to work the miraculous. The mud He made to cure blindness, or the Eucharist itself. What I said was that God can be subtle.

So, if you are not the anonytroll from the past few months, then my apologies for the mistaken identity, and you could help out with that if you wanted. And if you are anonytroll, well, my bad for feeding you.

Didn't our Lord specifically promise Saint Faustina that there would be a supernatural cross that appears in the sky before the Second Coming and that at all light would be extinguished and that this Cross would be a source of light for some time? As far as I know the private revelations given to Saint Faustina are approved by the Church. And this mention of a Cross of Light appearing in the sky is also mentioned by Christ in Sacred Scripture itself. I think this great supernatural Cross of Light is also what Pope Pius IX foresaw when he said that there would come a great prodigy that would fill the world with awe, but it would only come after the world faced a great trial. Well, that great trial was the violent Freemason wars of the 20th century culminating with an abandonment of Christianity in the West by the nations that once were known as "Christendom" and culminating in the near eradication of Catholics in the Middle East by these very same Freemasonic forces acting via proxy muslim armies, particularly in Syria. I think the time is very ripe for a supernatural intervention. How the world reacts to that intervention will determine if we face the Chastisement.

Vatican knows something big is coming, that's why all astronomical efforts in observatories see it first.

Fatima could not be more precise speaking of the end of the century (Neues Europa, others).

We are not told the truth because it will hurt the established doctrine, not the dogmas. When we are finally told the truth (Nibiru, others) there will be very little time, from several weeks to 2-3 months.

By May 13 it should transpire. The 100th anniversary of Fatima first apparition. It is no coincidence pope Francis is going to Fatima on that date, not on Oct 13. Whoever waits for Oct 13 it will be TOO LATE.

To all the Anonymous out there that forget to insert their name at the bottom of their reply. Just simply select the Name/URL and then input your fictitious name in the Name Box, and just skip over the URL Box and leave it blank, because that is what I do because My name is Really Tom Brady, lol..., that way we can decipher which Anonymous is responding. I wish there was not an Anonymous button, because there is no need for it. What would really help if there was a Fake Name Button., because the Name/URL button is very confusing for a lot of people. Hope this helps!!!The flying nun AKA Tom Brady

To all the Anonymous out there that forget to insert their name at the bottom of their reply. Just simply select the Name/URL and then input your fictitious name in the Name Box, and just skip over the URL Box and leave it blank, because that is what I do because My name is Really Tom Brady, lol..., that way we can decipher which Anonymous is responding. I wish there was not an Anonymous button, because there is no need for it. What would really help if there was a Fake Name Button., because the Name/URL button is very confusing for a lot of people. Hope this helps!!!The flying nun AKA Tom Brady

"Didn't our Lord specifically promise Saint Faustina that there would be a supernatural cross that appears in the sky before the Second Coming."

Yes. It's paragraph 83.

The text is on archive.org now, and it's fully searchable.

https://archive.org/details/St.FaustinaKowalskaDiary

rite this: Before I come as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort:

"All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day."

"Write this: Before I come as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort:

"All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day."

Hi Mark W, I wish I was a NFL player. I grew up 24 miles N. of Boston and love the Patriots. I was a cop in Houston for nearly 17 years and now reside in Chicago with my wife. Incidentally, if anyone happens to ever come to Chicago for any reason, you must come to St. John Cantius Parish. It is real close to a subway. It is one of the most beautiful Catholic Church's in Chicago. They also have a wonderful Traditional Latin Mass! I also like the fact that they have Reconciliation during Mass by 4 or 5 priests during Mass. I want to thank Emmett for a wonderful blog and all the contributors here as well, for I have learned a great deal. Mark W, do you or anyone know where Mark L has gone? I miss his insights as well. Also, does anyone know of a good book on Fatima and also a good book for an Atheist or Agnostic, please let me know. Thanks

Unfortunately, I can't tell you where Mark L has gone, but I sorely miss his comments myself...and almost immediately noticed his absence from these comments, as his is almost always one of the first to go up. I just hope he's okay.

"anonytroll", I like that. Mark W., as always, I agree with I think everything you've ever written in these forums, I'm of so like a mind it surprises me sometimes because I like to think of myself as an original thinker, haha.

I've written it before, but the huge Russian military exercise with the newly resurrected 1st Russian Guards Tank Army just the month prior to the centenary at Fatima has me very, very nervous, especially in light of the plethora of prophecy from Catholic saints about Russian attacking the rest of Europe at a time when it seems that such an occurrence would seem an impossibility. And, yes, anonytroll, feel free to attack me like Mr. Putin is dating your sister again, but I'm commenting from established sources here. The timing of the exercise in Belarus seems so congruent I find it hard to chalk it up to coincidence. I sure hope I'm wrong.

There seems to be a Western arrogance when it comes to military hardware that ignores that Russia has gone leaps and bound beyond the West in terms of the superiority of some of the most basic weapons of war. Their new main battle tanks have made not just every single person-controlled anti-tank weapon in the Western arsenal obsolete, but also Hellfire anti-tank missiles (and Apache attack helicopters designed to hold back hordes of T-72s), and anything an Abrams, LeClerc, Leopard, Challenger, or Stridsvagn can shoot at it. It is darn near invincible, and the Russian Tank Army involved in these exercises will be fielding exactly this new tank. Germany and France are just now designing counters to this brand new generation of tank that the Russians have developed, but their designs aren't expected to go into service before 2030 at the earliest. The Americans have unfortunately responded even less to this incredible new threat.

And this is just one of the developments in Russian military weaponry that outstrips the West by so much that if they choose to use their military while they still have enough Russians to field them (see my previous posts on their nightmare of a demographic problem). As for Russia being our saviors against ISIS, ugh, it is pretty much such common knowledge that Putin has seeded Chechen militants under his direct guidance in ISIS just to suit Russia's posturing that it's openly discussed in the British media by British Members of Parliament. This stuff isn't a secret. And all of my friends that live in continental Europe say the level of Russia's particular brand of low-intensity warfare, especially it's propaganda arm revving up to full force, as evidenced by those even posting in these forums that have bought into that message despite all common sense evidence, and another plethora, of disinformation absolutely hook, line, and sinker.

I have never wanted to be so wrong about something in my life, but I have a bad feeling about this one... and people who are lauding a proven mass-murderer and proven war-criminal the likes of Vladimir Putin (and anyone who understands how that agency worked understands that "once KGB, always KGB", even when the name is changed to FSB) as some paragon and saviour of Christian values? You're going to feel awfully foolish someday, I just hope it isn't someday sooner than the West is expecting.

As a priest and pastor, I am offering special masses on each of the apparition dates of Our Lady of Fatima this year. In addition we are offering a multi-session seminar for the faithful about her appearance at Fatima - being that so many of the faithful know little if anything about this pivotal event in Church history. We will be having the statue of Our Lady of Fatima present for each of these masses and booklets for the faithful explaining - among other things - how to gain a plenary indulgence during this 100th Anniversary Year. Emmet - We are also offering two other special masses, one on the 21st of August in order to begin a "second Lent" and then 40 days later at the close of this "second Lent" (that's what I am calling it at least). I just thought I would post this for anyone who might be interested in doing something similar in their parish(es). Pax et bonum!

The T-14 is certainly a radical departure for the Red Army, but it's not invincible. My cousin was in the army in the late 80's, and was actually posted in the Fulda Gap. He made a point once of saying, "every tank can be defeated." The T-14 is the same. They all have tracks, if nothing else.

And our military hasn't ignored the new developments. The M1A3 is due to come online soon, and the later models of M1A2 works quite well. They have new AT weapons that can fire 12km. And unfortunately, our military has experience, which the average Russian soldier does not.

A modern tank battle will not be won by tactics or tech. It's simply going to come down to who sees whom first.

Would NATO be able to absorb a Russian armored assault along two prongs through Poland and Romania. Absolutely....at the Rhine.

The Soviet-era Communists were infamous for making people work without pay...or else. Who's to say that isn't happening now? Either that, or they used funds that the average joe was told didn't exist. They're infamous for that sort of thing, too..And then there's this: It's a simple fact of human nature that, without sufficient compensation, a worker isn't going to give his best effort. He'll cut corners, and very cleverly conceal the fact that he's done so, too. He resents his employer and may even attempt minuscule acts of sabotage. The result? Yeah, the Communists have all this bright, shiny technology. But it won't work properly. It'll break down and need constant repair. There will be weaknesses that aren't supposed to be there. That sort of thing actually happened during the Soviet era. It's why their technology at the time was so woefully behind our own. .I agree that they haven't been standing still all these years. They have progressed in the area of weaponry and armament. But a lot of it is going to turn out to be nothing more than the usual smoke and mirrors. .In the end, though, a war is never won by machinery; it's won (or lost) by the men who wield it. We are absolutely right to be concerned about Russia. Technologically superior or not, they will prevail. Our Lady herself told us that implicitly, in the statement, "Nations will be annihilated." But that victory will not last. It will be followed, I suspect in short order, by the triumph of the Immaculate Heart, the miraculous conversion of Russia, and a brief period of peace..It's always darkest right before the dawn..God Bless.JMC

Thank you father for making such a thoughtful gesture! I think we definitely need to take action on this one, even if it is limited to spiritual warfare. It is good to know that there are faithful priests out there who are aware of our current predicament and are willing to do battle against Satan and his minions.

I was wondering how long it would take our resident troll, "Jason R," to show up on this thread and derail it with his Neocon talking points on Russia and Putin. "Jason R" is rather predictable with his talking points, but I was surprised to see "Mark W" come out of the Neocon closet and soil himself in "Jason R's" verbal excrement. Shame on you "Mark W"!!!

It's bad enough that "Jason R" is disobedient towards the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which has officially and authoritatively determined that the Consecration of Russia was accomplished in 1984. What's even worse is that he casually spreads and parrots Hillary Clinton's thoroughly discredited State Department talking points on Russia and Putin as if they are agreed upon facts. You are either suffering from a delusion, "Jason R," or you are a professional Neocon troll sent here to spread propaganda for the Deep State's ongoing effort to demonize Putin in preparation for war. That's also why you attacked Trump and those of us American Patriots who support him. Trump is currently fighting his own Party on this very issue of Russia and Ukraine and you know that if you Neocon Deep State trolls know that if you can win the information war with Catholics you can win the information war in the population at large. And information wars always precede actual wars and I remember doing battle with the Neocon trolls like Jason R in the runup to the first and second wars in Iraq. You can always spot a Neocon troll because they are never obedient to the Church authorities. I remember how these trolls went into full-blown meltdown mode when Pope's JPII and Benedict came out strongly against their Neocon agenda for war. These trolls were as disobedient and deceptive then as they are now.

Thankfully, faithful Catholics know better than to fall for "Jason R's" deceptive narrative on Russia. Faithful Catholics begin by swallowing their pride and political prejudices and submit to the Church authorities that tell us that Russia was Consecrated in 1984. Faithful Catholics also interpret the signs of the time without letting the Freemason heresy of "Americanism" stand in the way. "Jason R" must refuse to submit to legitimate Church authority on the Consecration of Russia because by doing so it dismantles the rest of his warmongering narrative on Russia and Putin. "Jason R" has wittingly or unwittingly embraced a narrative on Russia that happens to be the exact same narrative that has been pushed by the Freemason, Neocon Deep State that has been pushing for war with Russia ever since they hijacked the Reagan Revolution. This very same Deep State has been daily in the headlines trying to derail Trump's mandate to restore relations with Russia. A real, hot war is certainly on the horizon with Russia, and that's why the information war is in such full swing. For faithful Catholics who can't follow the news in realtime every day and who might have missed how the West has come into such dangerous confrontation with Russia - and who is responsible for bringing us to the precipice - then I suggest a very good video presentation on this very subject by Professor Jerry Kroth. Just search Youtube for "Propaganda, mass psychology, and the Ukraine." It's a great video that accurately presents the situation in Ukraine as it unfolded. It explains how the Reagan-Gorbachev-JPII Peace Dividend was squandered, who squandered it, and why this new confrontation with Russia is so much more dangerous than the first Cold War.

Well, I think the only comment I'll make, MPH, is - thanks for putting your new initials on your post.

I would like to ask one question - how did you find your way here? You turned-up about the time Emmett and Stephen were hurled into the abyss by the mother of god forum. Did you come from there? Google?

I was only forced out of the shadows to identify myself as "MPH" when I encountered the Neocon-bot "Jason R" who showed up out of nowhere to derail Emmett's thread on "Pope Leo XIII and the Unbinding of Satan" by attacking Putin and Trump with the worst kind of Neocon propaganda.

Can you provide evidence that your statement is true? "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which has officially and authoritatively determined that the Consecration of Russia was accomplished in 1984"

TOMPH - You should know, just in case you don't already, that MPH stands for Mendelssohn's Pickled Herring. It's a long story. But if you're going to associate yourself so closely with him, I figured you should know.

Emmett - might I suggest that it's time to turn off anonymous comments. There's a way to do it so that only registered users can comment. I haven't had a blog in a long time, but I if I remember rightly, there's a way to do it in your settings controls.

I'll try that out Mark W, and see how it works. I don't want to put people off commenting altogether though, since I find most people's contributions here are very valuable. Many commentators, including yourself, have helped me hone my thoughts on several subjects, and have steered me in certain directions that I would never have come up with on my own.

Ok I will weigh in. There are limited posters here - having them register will mean even less posters as some don't want to take the time or go through the trouble (me, for one) of signing in every time he or she desires to post something. I register for Amazon since I use my credit card, but here? Is it really necessary? Who cares if someone types a memoir on Russia or Putin - one can just ignore it. Some here are being overly sensitive to posts perhaps, and needlessly defensive.

I also don't like using my google account, as each time if is used at a blog, it increases the risk the password will be compromised by hackers.

I disagree with forcing a registration because of one unhappy person; it will only serve to stifle and limit the participation (the point of the blog), and the lurking. Lurkers like to know they can at any time offer up their two cents if a post really strikes them in some way to write, but not if they have to register first, so lurking becomes pointless after awhile.

I'm not a neocon, and I'm not buying that the consecration of Russia was accomplished in 1984, simply because you can't consecrate something without specifically naming it, and the word "Russia" was never said at all, in any context, that day. Fr. Amorth has publicly gone on record as reporting that various Vatican officials stood around the Pope to ensure he did not mention Russia at any time. He recounts instances of him asking these people, "Can I say 'Russia'?" And the answer was always no..Who's giving the Pope orders, you say? It's also been reported that during a private visit, Pope St. John Paul II told his guest, "My power ends at that door," meaning the door to his private office. Our Lady of Fatima told us that the Holy Father would have much to suffer, and it would seem this whittling away at his authority is part of it. .Make no mistake: No matter what his personal leanings may be, the Pope will never promulgate error from the Chair of Peter; the Holy Ghost simply won't allow it. However, the rest of the Vaticanistas do not share in that privilege. I've never heard an authoritative statement saying that the consecration was done; in fact, on several occasions Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI explicitly contradicted that viewpoint..It simply boils down to the fact that, in 2984 the word Russia was never spoken, and you can't consecrate something without naming it. Period..Yes, I know, this is still hotly contested throughout the Church, and I don't claim any special authority; this is simply where I stand on the matter..God bless.JMC

The Consecration was accomplished in 1984. Confirmation of this fact can be found in the official Vatican document "Message of Fatima" found at the following link: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html

That Vatican document was signed by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then Cardinal Ratzinger. Case closed. To argue otherwise is to place oneself above the Church on this matter. Those who argue that the Consecration was not done in 1984 are no better than those Catholics who assert that Pope Francis is an anti-pope. Most Catholics who I have met who push this conspiracy theory are also followers of unapproved apparitions at Medjugorje; the spirit of disobedience is very strong in them. They also tend to be Zionist, Neocon sympathizers, which explains their hostility towards Orthodox Russia and why they MUST begin with the premise that the 1984 Consecration was invalid, despite what the Church tells them. And Zionism/Neoconservatism is nothing more than the secularization, politicization, and weaponization of Jewish Messianism: in other words, the spirit of the Antichrist.

But the question still remains unanswered: was Russia consecrated in '84?

That was MPH statement just a few days ago. The Vatican link you provided says nothing regarding Russia's consecration in '84. Everyone knows the pope consecrated the world in '84. That's exactly what that document stipulated. Not a peep of Russia though.

The Vatican link provided in a person's post above explicitly says that the 1984 Consecration was accomplished. Here is the relevant portion:

"Sister Lucia personally confirmed that this solemn and universal act of consecration corresponded to what Our Lady wished ('Sim, està feita, tal como Nossa Senhora a pediu, desde o dia 25 de Março de 1984': 'Yes it has been done just as Our Lady asked, on 25 March 1984': Letter of 8 November 1989). Hence any further discussion or request is without basis."

That portion of Cardinal Ratzinger's Vatican document was signed by Cardinal Ratzinger's Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Does anyone posting on this thread have more authority to speak on this matter than then Cardinal Ratzinger and his Secretary then Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone? I doubt it.

One of the most important lessons I ever learned from reading the lives of the Saints was that it doesn't matter how much we are convinced that we are right and some particular Church authority is wrong on some particular issue, we must remain obedient to them in those moments. Often God uses these very issues to test our obedience. I believe many so-called "conservative" Catholics are currently being put through this very kind of test with regard to Pope Francis where there is a temptation to label him an anti-pope because we don't agree with his politics. I don't agree with much of Pope Francis' political agenda either, but we still must remain obedient to him and other legitimately-appointed Church authorities. Remember: pride cometh before a fall.

This is mainly a question...for the pro-Russian readers. I have nothing against Russia, I hate war, I hate the fact that the CIA has involved us (USA) in decades of useless violence and war. That being said, I do not think that the Russian Orthodox Church dispenses sacraments to the same degree and at the same levels of sanctifying grace as the Roman Catholic Church. Trying to be perfectly fair about accessing the level of Catholic worship in Russia, would you not admit that Catholicism is unfairly suppressed in Russia? I read that they have 4 Catholic bishops for all of Russia and just a handful of Catholic priests. To reach the culmination of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it would seem that those numbers have to increase in order for the flow of sanctifying grace to turn into a torrent of graces unleashed into Russia and all parts of the world. In order for sanctifying grace to increase, there needs to be priests (Catholic ones) to administer the sacraments, there needs to be prayer and penance on the part of the faithful and a huge decrease in sin and lack of faith. Let us honestly access the situation and not inflate the goodness of any 'superpower' that does not deserve it.

Everything I have read tells me that Catholicism is heavily suppressed in Russia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Catholic priests from all over the world were able to enter the country while it was in disarray, and worked hard to bring the sacraments to Catholics who had been hiding their faith, without benefic of the Sacrament, for decades. As the country got back on its feet, most of those priests were ejected from the country, and any others trying to come in are denied entrance visas..Unfortunately, to gain that outpouring of grace that will convert Russia, the specific consecration of Russia by the Pope with all the Catholic bishops of the world simultaneously (note that the bishops were not involved in the 1984 consecration of the world, which was performed by the Pope alone) must be done. In the meantime, Our Lady of Fatima asks the rest of us to perform acts of reparation for sin and to make the Five First Saturdays. In fact, the Fatima Apostolate posits that the more people take part in this devotion, the more quickly the Pope will receive the grace necessary to "buck the system," as it were, and arrange the consecration with the bishops, as requested at Fatima..As for Sister Lucia's statement that the 1984 consecration was accepted by Heaven, I don't doubt that for a minute, because of events that transpired around the time of that consecration. But it still did not fulfil the requirement of consecration Russia; Sr. Lucia is also on record as replying to questions of whether or not it did with the statement, "No! Russia! Russia!" .To clarify my position, I wish to let it be known that I am not a sedevacantist. While I don't agree with many of Pope Francis' opinions on things (which is perfectly permissible), I don't regard him as an antipope. Nor do I follow any visions that have not been approved by the Church. While we are still awaiting final word from the Pope about the validity of Medjugorje, previous bishops over the years have ruled it "not supernatural," and hence I take most of what I hear about it with a large grain of salt. However, knowing the situation in the Vatican to be what it is, I am extremely careful about statements reported as coming from there. Prayerful discernment is required in some cases, since primarily we can never be sure these days if the media are reporting such statements accurately, or taking them out of context and putting their own spin on them. The blunt truth is, any time we are taught something that is contrary to perennial Church teaching, then we are actually duty-bound to disobey, otherwise we may be led into heresy. Historically, several of the major heresies were actually espoused by bishops, to the point that in a few cases the Church teetered on the brink of schism. It's happening again now, with the sedevacantists, LeFebrvists, etc., though in the latter case both sides are making serious attempts at reconciliation. God willing, that effort will succeed. .God Bless.JMC

The Orthodox are in a state of schism but their Sacraments are just as valid as the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Russia are closer than ever to being reuinited, thanks to the hard work of JPII, Benedict and now Pope Francis. I still hold out hope that Pope Francis will visit Moscow, despite the fact that the Freemasons who control Western Foreign Policy are absolutely terrified of a spiritual reunification between the West and Russia and have been doing everything in their power since Reagan left office to bring the West and Russia into deadly confrontation. Thankfully, Putin is a cool cat and has refused to take the bait time and time again when faced with provocations on his border. Most of the anti-Russian sentiment comes from Ukrainian and Polish Catholics who are stiill harboring hatred towards Russia from WWII and the Cold War; these Catholics willfully ignore their own countries roles in stoking tensions towards Russia. For example, I have yet to hear one prominent Ukraininan Catholic authority condemn the Western-sponsored, violent Maidan coup against Yanukovych or condemn Poroshenko's ongoing genocidal punitive war against the Donbass. I have yet to hear one prominent Polish Catholic authority condemn NATO's warmongering posture towards Russia on Polish soil, especially when it comes to the NATO Missile "Defense" Shield that Poles have allowed on their soil knowing full well the threat it poses to Russian national security. Pope Saint John Paul II is rolling over in his grave at the level of complicity of the Polish authorities in undoing the very Peace Dividend that he and Reagan and Gorbachev worked so hard to achieve.

In fact, Russia has been Christian longer than America has even existed. America was founded by a bunch of Deist Freemasons who had nothing but good things to say about the violent, anti-Catholic French revolutionaries. Most of America's President's have been Protestant heretics and many have been Freemasons. The one and only In fact, Russia has been Christian longer than America has even existed. America was founded by a bunch of Freemasons who had nothing but good things to say about the anti-Catholic French revolutionaries. Most of America's President's have been Catholic President America had was assassinated. Contrast this with Russia where for most of her history her leaders have been Orthodox Christians with access to the Sacraments. The reason Our Lady of Fatima came to ask for the Consecration of Russia was precisely because Russia had been Christian for centuries and the Devil knew how much harm could be done if the last remaining Christian superpower could be toppled. Also, I can think of only two leaders of major nations today who receive the Sacraments on a weekly basis: the Polish President and Vladimir Putin. The rest of Christendom is has either apostasized, is led by Protestant heretics, or is led by Freemasons. Now, if only Poland could divorce herself from the Western heretics, apostates and Freemasons who are using her for their own purposes, and unite with her spiritual allies in Russia, Satan would be dealt a decisive blow. It was something JPII dreamed would happen one day.

Just a point of clarity Anon @ 28 March 17:42, if the Sacraments at the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church were equally valid, there would be no schism. There are differences in validity and hence, in levels of sanctifying grace, which is sad, but true. I pray that they will be erased in my lifetime.

You are mistaken in your understanding. Yes, the Orthodox are in a state of schism. But they have valid Sacraments. A Sacrament is either valid or it is not valid. A person's disposition towards the Sacrament determines the level of grace received. An Orthodox Eucharist is 100% the same Eucharist as the Roman Catholic Eucharist. The grace received is proportional to the disposition of the one receiving. Contrast this with the invalid Protestant "eucharist" where ZERO grace is received regardless of the disposition of the one receiving.

I think we should ask ourselves a question: why was Russia singled out by Our Lady of Fatima?

In order to answer that question I think we must begin by stepping back and looker at the larger picture and context in which Our Lady of Fatima appeared. When Our Lady visited the three shepherd children in 1917, most of Christendom had already fallen victim to an Apostasy and Rebellion that had been in operation since the very beginning. Satan had begun by dividing the Church from within, first with the Orthodox Schism and then with the Protestant Reformation. The damage done was then accelerated with the birth of organized Freemasonry during the Enlightenment. One by one the great nations of Christendom fell victim to this Rebellion against the Mystical Body of Christ. First in Germany, then England, then France, etc. By the time the 20th Century came along, most of what was known as Christendom had been dismantled piece by piece in Satan's centuries long plan of attack. Orthodox Russia had remained a Christian nation during those centuries; she was Satan's final move and the grand chessboard. In 1917, Christian Russia was successfully toppled by Satan's forces. This is why I believe Our Lady of Fatima appeared when she did in 1917 and why she singled out Russia for Consecration. The rest of Christendom had fallen by this point. Once we put the message of Fatima in the larger historical context - only then does it really start to make sense.

I'll also briefly touch on the 1984 Consecration. I believe that it was done as requested in 1984, not just because Sister Lucia and the Vatican are on record saying that it was done, but also because history itself confirms this fact. For many years the Consecration was not done as requested and Sister Lucia time and time again said it was not done correctly. During those years of incorrect Consecrations, Russia continued to be the Soviet Union. Then the 1984 Consecration was done. Sister Lucia said it was accepted by Heaven this time. Sister Lucia also is on the record in 1993 stating that the 1984 Consecration prevented a nuclear war that would have taken place in 1985: http://www.spiritdaily.net/secretm.htm

For those of us who lived through the Cold War, there can be no doubt that a supernatural change of history occurred during the Presidency of Reagan and the Pontificate of Saint JPII. The Iron Curtain was literally torn down and the Soviet Union came to an end without a nuclear war. This was a quite unexpected outcome: everyone living at that time was preparing for and expecting a nuclear war. Our Lady of Fatima was truly victorious and yet, as Pope Benedict reminded us, the Triumph has yet to be completed.

The only thing wrong with your assumption that the Consecration of Russia was done in 1984 was that Our Lady's instructions were that it be done together with all the bishops of the world in one great, if brief, ceremony, to be done simultaneously - a massive piece of logistics given the multiple time zones involved, not to mention the International Date Line. The bishops did not take part in the 1984 prayer; Pope St. John Paul II acted alone..Yes, it was accepted by Heaven. War between Russia and America was narrowly averted almost immediately afterward. But it still wasn't the consecration Our Lady asked for. The conversion that is to take place is to be clearly miraculous, so no one in the world can have any doubt that it was through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin that it was done; that's why it's called the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart.

I don't often any longer engage in arguments about the Fatima consecration. It has been done. But I feel I must say something since too many errors about the topic are being repeated over and over as if fact. JMC, might I suggest you purchase and read Documents on Fatima ( https://www.fatimafamily.org/product-page/documents-on-fatima-memoirs-of-sister-lucia )because what you don't know about Fatima is a lot.

For one thing, it was done in union with the bishops. For another, Our Lady never said they all had to be gathered in the same place. And another: The Pope did single out Russia during the consecration when he said, "In a special way we entrust and consecrate to you those individuals and nations which particularly need to be thus entrusted and consecrated." ( http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/consecra.htm ) God, unlike us, is not stupid; He knew exactly what nation the Pope was talking about when he said this. And the humble Pope spoke with great charity towards Russia by speaking of it in this way.But for those who don't 'get it', the pope spoke of PARTICULAR NATIONS NEEDING TO BE CONSECRATED. By definition, the word 'particular' is used to single out an individual member of a specified group, so the Pope used it to single out that one nation out of the group of nations that are Lady wanted Consecrated to her Immaculate Heart. She only mentioned one - Russia.

Another way to see it: If I own only one car, a blue Toyota Rav4, I can say, "My Toyota Rav4 is in the driveway, or I can say 'my car is in the driveway.' Both say the same thing.I can say Russia, or I can say 'that particular nation Our Lady says needs to be consecrated.'As I said, God is not stupid.

The pope never truly believed he did the consecration of Russia. He had to asked Lucy on two separate occasions if it was done correctly. Obviously because peace hadn't reigned throughout the world and no mention of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary either. In fact, not a peep about either one comes to mind. If John Paul II did a legitimate consecration then where was the peace promised from such a consecration, and why was JPII so worried about not seeing any peace in the world? Keep in mind that his Assisi gathering was just two years after his alleged Fatima consecration, which also means that the planning of Assisi must have occurred earlier than 1986, for large events like Assisi are not put together overnight. So within a year or so after his 84 consecration, JPII is already fretting about not seeing world peace.

Lucy herself declared in '85 the attempted consecration of '84 did not satisfy Our Lady’s requests because “there was no participation of the bishops and there was no mention of Russia.” Even JPII acknowledged in the presence of tens of thousands of witnesses, during and after the ceremony, that the people of Russia were still “awaiting our consecration and confiding.” The next day these statements were reported in the Pope’s own newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, and the Italian Bishops’ publication, Avvenire.

So what transpired during the course of those 5 years ('89) to supposedly change Lucy's mind? She herself did not retract her previous statement in '84 or '85.

Lucy worded her reply in '89 to say that the consecration was accepted by heaven. Yes , the world was consecrated , not Russia but still it wasn't what Our Lady asked. here were some benefits for the consecration of the world just as with Pius xii consecration of the world that shortened WWII. Still even he did not perform what Our Lady had asked. This '84 act by JPII was very doubtful in his mind , so much so that he initiated the Assisi Peace Initiative less than 2 years later, the gathering of the world's non catholic 'clergy', in opposition to the pleas of Our Lady's, that to call ALL the catholic bishops for the Fatima consecration(which was not carried out). Why would a world peace initiative be needed if he did this consecration of Russia? JPII was afraid of offending the orthodox, just as the council did. Lucy over and over again stated only Russia and not the world was to be the sole consecrating objective.

Can anyone here help flesh out the significance of the 33 year time period and its connection to Mary? As Emmett mentioned in the post, we have the 33 year connection between Our Lady of Knock and La Salette. Now we have the centenary of Fatima occurring 33 years after the censecration. Pointing back to Scripture, Mary had to wait 33 days after Jesus's circumcision before presenting him in the temple. So my question is... what does that all mean? What could that mean for 2017?? I hoping someone more knowledgeable than me can tie it all together! Thanks!

I find the current Russophobia in the Western press to be very disconcerting and dangerous. Prior to the Great Schism in 1054, the Latin and the Greek Churches formed a single undivided Body of Christ in the world - the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. While, as a Roman Catholic, I believe that the Bishop of Rome is the Vicar of Christ on Earth, I can understand how the Eastern Orthodox church could have viewed their own Bishop of Constantinople (the New Rome) as being a peer of the Pope. Ultimately, the Latin and Greek Churches will be reunited. Consider the following from JPII:

"In this perspective an expression which I have frequently employed finds its deepest meaning: the Church must breathe with her two lungs! In the first millennium of the history of Christianity, this expression refers primarily to the relationship between Byzantium and Rome. From the time of the Baptism of Rus' it comes to have an even wider application: evangelization spread to a much vaster area, so that it now includes the entire Church. If we then consider that the salvific event which took place on the banks of the Dnieper goes back to a time when the Church in the East and the Church in the West were not divided, we understand clearly that the vision of the full communion to be sought is that of unity in legitimate diversity."- Ut Unum Sint (On commitment to Ecumenism), Pope St. JP II.

And Pope Francis has only one lung... I'll leave the final word to the Good Lord on this one:

"I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one." (John 17)

Per sam comments, this is why I don't engage in discussions on Fatima. One ends up talking to people who refuse to read actual documents on Fatima which reveal the truth about it, and instead quote ad infinitum what others told them via blogs or books or youtube. The raw documents reveal the true story, so sam and JMC and others should do themselves a favor and read Documents on Fatima ( https://www.fatimafamily.org/product-page/documents-on-fatima-memoirs-of-sister-lucia ) before they say anything about it. Sam goes on to repeat errors made by JMC. That book has actual letters written by key players in the Fatima story - the raw data.

For starters, I explained the Fatima peace before. But sam equates it with the absence of war, which it is not. Briefly, Our Lady did not say if man keeps sinning there will be war; she listed various punishments along with war. The COVENANT with God established peace between man and God. Blessed Mary basically said at Fatima that man had broken the Covenant, broken the peace between man and God - "man must stop offending God because He is already too much offended". The punishments she specified are some of the 'curses' for breaking the Covenant listed in Deuteronomy, so the 'peace' Blessed Mary is referring to is the peace between man and God. The punishments Blessed Mary is referring to are the punishments for breaking the peace between man and God.

I don't generally get into discussions about the consecration too often either, but I will offer one or two points here; not to be argumentative, but to maybe look at it from a slightly different point of view.

First off, I look at documentation a bit differently. As I've said here before, my degree is in history, and we actually had classes on evidence and how to vet sources. There's a very important difference between primary and secondary sources. A primary source is something that was written by one of the people involved - in this case, the letter by Sister Lucia. A secondary source is any derivative thereof - in this case, a translation of the letter that was done after the fact or by someone other than the author. A generality: Good history is written with primary sources, mediocre history is written with secondary sources.

Even Greg, who's read the documents, is reading secondary source material - I'm assuming that he didn't go to the archives and actually read the letters.

Within the realm of secondary sources, some are better than others. A printed book by a reputable author on a solid printing house, is more reliable than a blog. (Think of Mark Mallett's quotes from St. Augustine, vs. the real quotes in a printed copy of City of God by a good translator. A very distinct and important difference lurks in Mallett's selective use of the ellipsis.)

So Greg's material, in the end and with the understanding that it is an imperfect source itself, is superior to the I-read-it-on-the-interweb-so-it-must-be-true kind of source. But it is still an imperfect source.

I haven't read the material, so I don't like commenting on whether or not it's been done. I can see evidence to both sides, but none of the evidence is quite so compelling as I'd like. But given a Vatican site and a book quoting Vatican archival sources, I'm more inclined to go with Greg's version. But here's the rub:

Does it matter?

"In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world."

Whether it happened in the past or is out there in the future somewhen, doesn't really get me all riled-up. We had the assurance, in 1917, that it would happen. And unlike the book of Revelation, this doesn't even seem to require exotic and difficult interpretations. It will happen (from a 1917 point of view) or has happened (from a 2017 point of view), so I'm not going to worry about it too deeply.

Orthodox sacraments are equally valid, what you are referring to is the fact that it is not proper for a Catholic Church member in union with Rome to receive sacraments from an Orthodox Church. A Church of the Orthodox Communion is equally one, holy, catholic (ie universal), and apostolic as any in communion with Rome the difference being that they are simply not in communion with Rome and hence the schism.

There is certainly more to the schism than just this, of course, but that being said an Orthodox person can receive Catholic Communion Sacraments in a Byzantine Catholic Church according to Canon Law. This does not, however, work in the opposite direction.

I agree that "peace" doesn't always mean "the absence of war." But given the context of the Fatima apparitions, I suspect that is the precise meaning Our Lady intended. After all, this was right in the middle of World War I, the most horrific war up to that time, and all people wanted was for it to end.

The context surrounding the Fatima apparition was the "conversion" of Russia, the largest Christian nation in the world at that time, into the atheistic Soviet Union virtually overnight. This happened within 3 weeks of the Oct 13, 1917 Fatima apparition. For 70 years atheist Russia (as the head of the Soviet Union) became Satan's blunt force instrument of punishment during the 20th century, until the Consecration requested at Fatima was done. The Soviet atheist flag was lowered for the last time from the Kremlin on December 25, 1991, a relatively short seven years after the Consecration, Christmas Day in the West - Christ was "reborn" in Russia.

On December 8, 1991, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the USSR became history when the Soviet leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus concluded an agreement on the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Thus Russia emerged again out from the Soviet Union.

God bless,Greg J Cring

P.S. As for documents, my understanding is that one cannot get the raw actual letters, only the official translations of them - these official translations are in that book Documents on Fatima. But maybe that has changed and one can, but back then one could not get them.

"P.S. As for documents, my understanding is that one cannot get the raw actual letters, only the official translations of them - these official translations are in that book Documents on Fatima. But maybe that has changed and one can, but back then one could not get them."

Alas, that's sometimes the way it works. Once upon a time, I was granted permission to visit the old Soviet archives when Yeltsin opened them in the early 90's. I couldn't get funding, so I never made it (long story). The archives were eventually closed again. Archives open. Archives close.

Kevin Miller thank you for that clarification! I was mainly wondering about Russian Orthodox sacraments which from what I have read are still different from Eastern Orthodox sacraments. Is there a distinction between Russian Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox sacraments? From what I have read, the sacrament of penance is rarely offered, only in the case of reconciliation to the Church of an excommunication Church member, does one utilize the sacrament of penance. This is according to http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/ortho_cath.html (note that it was written by an Orthodox clergy member)

I do remember the collapse of the Soviet Union, quite well, as a matter of fact, and I have no doubt that it was an act of Heaven that brought it about. However, the promised conversion of Russia has not yet taken place. In 1917, the word "conversion," in the context of Catholicism, had one meaning only, and that was conversion to the *Catholic* faith; experts agree that this was the meaning Our Lady intended. Yet Russia is still hindering Catholic priests from entering the country. However the conversion takes place, it's supposed to be clearly and undeniably miraculous, so that EVERYONE, even the most obstinate of atheists, will see that it was due to the intercession of the Immaculate Heart...because Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart venerated by all, alongside His own Sacred Heart.

God Bless.JMC

PS: Craig, the 20:19 comment to which you responded was mine; I forgot to add my initials.

To JMC. There is no doubt that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a direct result of the 1984 consecration that St John Paul 11 did. Russia is I believe in the process of being converted but as other apparitions of Our Lady have indicated there will be a manifestation from heaven maybe the sign and the illumination of conscience that St Faustina talks about happening. Maybe then we will see the final part of Our Lady of Fatima's promise of Russia's conversion and the era of peace being granted to the world. And also as Emmett says it will short era of peace of perhaps 25 to 50 years which is not surprising given the wanton wickedness of our world.

Absolutely, Anthony. I once read somewhere it would last about 30 years; thinking about it, however, 50 seems more likely. That would be enough time for two more generations, with the youngest one growing up to rebel against the beliefs and practices of their parents and grandparents, precisely has happened in the 1920s and 1960s. (Yes, the 1920s. The flappers, while pretty tame by today's standards, were extremely scandalous for their time.)

Our Lady of Fatima's primary mission was not the "conversion" of the Orthodox Russians to the Catholic Church. I'm not sure "conversion" would be the correct word to use in this context, as the Orthodox already have valid Sacraments. Had Our Lady of Fatima's mission been the heaing of the Orthodox Schism, then why did she appear in 1917 and not hundreds of years earlier? Your argument makes no sense when put into context. 1917 was the year a bunch of atheistic Jews violently overthrew Orthodox Russia, using many of the same tactics that their Neocon descendents use today in places like Ukraine and Syria where they use "protests" and "color revolutions" to affect violent change. Our Lady of Fatima came to save Russia from Jewish Atheism and Freemasonry, not primarily to solve the Orthodox Schism. Our Lady is an expert strategist and knows how to prioritize threats.

As for your assertion that Catholics are persecuted in Russia today, this is pure Neocon fiction from the same playbook that says Putin has murdered dozens of political opponents, or says that Putin is "suppressing human rights in Russia." Whenever you hear these kind of talking points what they are really saying is that they don't like Putin because he puts Russia First and has given the Orthodox Church a position of authority in Government. This is actually the way Christendom used to work: during the Holy Roman Empire there was no seperation of Church and State. Seperation of Church and State is a demonic Freemason construct. The Wicked West is upset that Putin has successfully restored Russia to her pre-1917 Christian heritage. They are upset that he is the most powerful man in the world and opposes their anti-Christian, anti-Human, pro-sodomite agenda. They are upset that he thwarted their aggression in Ukraine and Syria and exposes them for the warmongers that they are. Russia may still have a role to play in the message of Fatima: it will be the instrument of God's Justice against an Apostate, Sodomite, Violent Western establishment who have all but destroyed the original Christian populations in Iraq and Syria and who have waged a genocidal punitive war against the Orthodox Christians of the Donbass.

anonymous 3 April 8:08 you said in part, "1917 was the year a bunch of atheistic Jews violently overthrew Orthodox Russia," this is not true... Lenin was baptized as a Christian, also Stalin trained as a seminarian in the Orthodox Church for a year before he decided to be an atheist. Please don't write things without checking if they are factual. There are many other points you make that I would contest, but you don't seem open to other peoples' points of view so that is just how it goes.

No, she did not come to convert the Russian Orthodox Church. I agree that church has no need of conversion, only reconciliation with Rome. She is calling for the conversion of all sinners...and we are ALL sinners, each and every one of us. .The last vision at Fatima was on October 13, 1917. Four days later came the Communist takeover of Russia, and the errors of Communism have spread all around the world ever since, just as Our Lady warned us. Those are the errors that Russia has spread throughout the world, and that is who she was referring to when she said, "Russia will be converted."

I am not afraid of opposing viewpoints. The ones afraid of opposing viewpoints are those Christians who worship Zionism and willfully ignore the role Jewish Bolshevism played in the Russian Revolution. Although officially Jews have never made up more than five percent of the Russia's total population, they played a highly disproportionate and probably decisive role in the infant Bolshevik regime, effectively dominating the Soviet government during its early years. Soviet historians, along with most of their colleagues in the West, for decades preferred to ignore this subject. The facts, though, cannot be denied.

With the notable exception of Lenin (Vladimir Ulyanov), most of the leading Communists who took control of Russia in 1917-20 were Jews. Leon Trotsky (Lev Bronstein) headed the Red Army and, for a time, was chief of Soviet foreign affairs. Yakov Sverdlov (Solomon) was both the Bolshevik party's executive secretary and - as chairman of the Central Executive Committee - head of the Soviet government. Grigori Zinoviev (Radomyslsky) headed the Communist International (Comintern), the central agency for spreading revolution in foreign countries. Other prominent Jews included press commissar Karl Radek (Sobelsohn), foreign affairs commissar Maxim Litvinov (Wallach), Lev Kamenev (Rosenfeld) and Moisei Uritsky.

Lenin himself was of mostly Russian and Kalmuck ancestry, but he was also one-quarter Jewish. His maternal grandfather, Israel (Alexander) Blank, was a Ukrainian Jew who was later baptized into the Russian Orthodox Church.

A thorough-going internationalist, Lenin viewed ethnic or cultural loyalties with contempt. He had little regard for his own countrymen. "An intelligent Russian," he once remarked, "is almost always a Jew or someone with Jewish blood in his veins."

The phrase "atheistic Jew" is an oxymoron. A Jew is one who practices Judaism, a RELIGION, not a race. If they've abandoned the practice of their faith, then it's more accurate to call them "apostate Jews.".Stressing the fact that it was apostate Jews who led the Bolshevik revolution is pointless. All it serves to do is to perpetuate anti-Semitism, which, like all other forms of bigotry, needs to die.

Stressing the fact that atheistic Jews led the Bolshevik revolution is NOT pointless nor is it anti-semitism. It is a historical fact, and central to understanding the message of Fatima and understanding where we are today. The descendents of the atheistic Jews who led the Bolshevik Revolution are what we today call Neoconservatives and Zionists and they are more powerful than ever. They spread their errors all across the world, beginning in Russia. Their influence is stronger than ever today. They toppled the democratically-elected Yanukovych in Ukraine using the same violent tactics ("protests" and "color revolution") that they first perfected in 1917. This is the same group of Neocon warmongers who are constantly lying about and demonizing Putin and Assad, are in fact the guilty ones themselves: everything they accuse Putin and Assad of being and doing they themselves are guilty of. They are a bunch of murderers, a brood of vipers. They will bring a Chastisement upon America unless Americans bring them to justice for their continuing war crimes, and Russia will be the arm of God's Justice. Any time I hear someone play the anti-semite card I know they have lost the argument. Do you know that in some of the countries that criminally punish "anti-semitic" acts like denying the official account of the Holocaust, it is perfectly legal to question the existence of Christ. LOL! And you say you are upset by anti-semitism, JMC. "Anti-semitism" is a just another way of saying: "criticizing the Zionists is not permitted, step in line and do what your are told."

"The effect created by Russia's Internet Troll Army is not very big, but they manage to make certain forums meaningless because people stop commenting on the articles when these trolls sit there and constantly create an aggressive, hostile atmosphere toward those whom they don’t like. The trolls react to certain news with torrents of mud and abuse. This makes it meaningless for a reasonable person to comment on anything there."

To the Hasbara troll that keeps posting the "Russia's Web Brigades" Wikipedia article,

Why don't you ever mention Obama's Troll Army that flooded the comment sections of Internet articles and blogs during his 8 years? Why is it always Putin who is the villain? Give me a break. It's obvious that you have an anti-Russian, pro-Neocon war agenda here. It's obvious by the fact that you never condemn or criticize the warmongering West or the murderous neo-Nazi Junta currently occupying Kiev with full Western support. Of course Putin is engaged in informational war with the West; he has no choice: he either fights the informational war or he will eventually be forced to fight a real war with the Western warmongers. And it won't be the Western elites or their families fighting on the frontlines of that war, it will be poor internet trolls like you who will be the first to be conscripted into action.

Maybe we all are a little guilty of nationalism, but your posts seem extreme anon 8 april @ 18:11. I don't brag about the fact that EWTN is based in the US or that the patroness of the US is the Immaculate Conception, although I could, because it creates a boorish atmosphere. Each nation has its gifts and prayers that Almighty God receives from the hands of the Virgin Mary through her constant intercession for us. We need to encourage each other to pray, not say, "We're better than you because of this and this and this..." Try to pray more instead of worrying about geopolitical folly that we can not control except by prayers.

I'm not entirely convinced the pro-Russia poster is a troll designed to derail this thread. The regular followers of this blog need to step up and re-direct the conversation to the topic. If this person continues to post the same thing, then he/she's probably trolling the thread.As far as the consecration of Russia is concerned, I think the biggest problem is that some people have a misunderstanding of what the results of the conversion will be. Too many people seem to think that when Russia is converted that she will be magically free from sin and that's not what I think will happen. Russia will still be led by people capable of sin and will still be able to sin, just to a much lesser degree. Like Christians on the right in the US look back on the 19th Century as a time when the US was blessed, but overlook all the oppression against women, children, the poor and marginalized that happened then.It is clear that since the 1984 conversion Russia has changed and is a different nation than when it was the USSR. Russia still has its problems and is not perfect, but something did happen to change. It may not be the change we wanted or expected, but prophecies aren't always fulfilled in the way we expect or want them to.

Russia was properly consecrated in 1984. Those who argue otherwise are guilty of the sin of Pride and are guilty of calling the Church authorities liars as well as guilty of setting themselves up as their own Church authority on this matter. Those who buy into this delusion also tend to be of the neoconservative bent and think of the Consecration as some sort of weapon with which to subdue Russia. They conveniently ignore the fact that since 1984, it is the United States and the West which have become the new Evil Empire.

Russia was consecrated in 1984. The Soviet Union collapsed as a result and a nuclear war in 1985 was averted. But the Consecration did come too late, and by the time it was done in 1984 the errors of Russia (i.e. Militant, politicized atheism) had spread and they spread like wildfire in the West, which has now apostasized and can no longer properly by called Christendom. Rather than take advantage of the profits of the 1984 Consecration and unite with Russia to build a better world, since 1984 the West has expanded NATO right up to Russia's borders and has engaged in a demonization campaign against Russia and the person of Vladimir Putin leading us to the dangerous situation we find ourselves in today with Russia. Those of us who are not blinded by the Freemason heresy of Americanism and who are more loyal to the Catholic Church than we are to America, are able to correctly interepret the signs of the times and see that Russia will be the instrument of Chastisement on a wicked, wicked West.

The consecration of the world had benefits. Yes I admit that. But that's not what or why Our Lady asked for Russia specifically. Pius xii consecrated the world and it too had benefits. But he et al have not followed the requests of Our Lady. To think we've had a period of world peace since '84 is delusional at best. Father Alonso, who had many interviews with Sister Lucy, wrote in 1976:

"... we should affirm that Lucia always thought that the 'conversion' of Russia is not to be limited to the return of the Russian People to the Orthodox Christian religions, rejecting the Marxist atheism of the Soviets, but rather, it refers purely, plainly and simply to the total, integral conversion of Russia to the one true Church of Christ, the Catholic Church."

To suggest that we are currently living in the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart as a result of this so called consecration is to make Our Lady a laughing stock.

To Sam. I don't think many people believe we are living in the time of the Triumph of the Immaculate heart. I believe the consecration has been done as sister Lucia said it had been accepted by heaven. So we are still waiting for this era of peace that Our Lady said would be granted to the world. But because the consecration wasn't done until 1984 and Russia had spread it's errors of atheistic communism around the world, that is why we have had to wait for this era to come.

Not one soul will attribute this peace to the efforts of an '84 consecration of the world 30, 40 or 50 years later. It wouldn't make sense. When the Triumph comes it will be the immediate result of a proper consecration just as it occurred in '31 in Portugal.

Padre Pio's feast day IS September 23, as Anonymous thought. Also, the relics of St. Padre Pio, including his heart, will be touring the US this year, including on his feast day. I believe it is significant that Pope Francis visited the US during the following: Feast of Padre Pio, Yom Kippur, and Eid Al Adha (Muslim Feast of Sacrifice, commemorating Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in submission to God). All of these point to SACRIFICE. I fear that Pope Francis will be the martyr pope, if there is to be one. I hope not. The US has many idols to repent of, let us hope we do repent, as Ninevah did, so that God can spare us the punishment. Osama bin Laden killed on Feast of Divine Mercy surely suggests possibility of Mercy triumphing over justice in the US. Let us all do our best to "do whatever He tells us" and offer every day the sacrifice of our daily duty, any sacrifice God presents to us, to add to that One Atoning Sacrifice..."making up for what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His Body the Church." Come Holy Spirit make us holy!

craig here is the newspaper quoting jp2 himself saying no goodJohn Paul II consecrated "the world" to Mary in 1982, implying Russia was consecrated along with the world, but Sr. Lucia said this did not fulfill our Lady's request. John Paul made another consecration in 1984, this time of "all individuals and peoples of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary." This consecration never mentioned Russia, but did state "In a special way we entrust and consecrate to you those individuals and nations which particularly need to be thus entrusted and consecrated." Those individuals who particularly need to be entrusted and consecrated are an obvious veiled reference to Russia.

Is a veiled reference good enough? Does our Lady require that Russia be specifically named as the object of the consecration? Many Fatima devotees say yes and can point to various statements by Sr. Lucia to the effect that Russia had to be specifically named as the object of the consecration. Others, no less devoted to Fatima, say 1984 was valid.

you do a disservice by not informing fellow catholics of this information

If the entire world and the human race had just been consecrated by the pope, who on earth could possibly be "awaiting consecration and confiding"? In making this statement, the Pope was publicly acknowledging that the consecration requested by Our Lady had still not been performed. A similar report appeared shortly after the consecration in the Italian bishops’ newspaper Avvenire, describing the Pope praying in St. Peter’s several hours after the consecration ceremony, asking Our Lady to bless "those peoples for whom You Yourself are awaiting our act of consecration and entrusting." Again, an admission from Pope John Paul II himself that he did not consider the 1984 consecration as fulfilling our Lady's requests. The bishops of the world did not buy it either, as by 1989 the Vatican had received signatures from 350 bishops pledging to participate in a public consecration of Russia by name. Three million petitions from lay Catholics came to Rome asking for the same thing between 1985 and 1989; in 1989 alone a million petitions were delivered. Clearly, many people were unconvinced, even those in the hierarchy.

So why would John Paul II bother going through with a consecration he knew was invalid? We will never know John Paul II's motives for sure; as in many other instances, JPII is an enigma here. It seems that the answer might be found in a previous statement from John Paul II dating back to his first abortive attempt to consecrate Russia in 1982. After being asked why the Pope failed to mention Russia by name in his 1982 consecration, John Paul II responded that "I tried to do everything possible in the concrete circumstances."[2]

"When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour."

Could you please elaborate on the "silence in heaven for about half an hour" and what if could mean? Is it possible the silence could reference the short time of peace we're experiencing now since the consecration in '84?

about half an hour...33 min? ...meaning 33 years? Pointing again to the significance of 2017?

This is very very heavy stuff indeed. I have also been reading up on the 3 days of darkness - I think St.Faustina and St. Padre Pio had mentioned the 3 days of darkness as well and I wonder what if they coming solar eclipse does not last a few minutes but 3 days? As a side not I think that all the commenters are in agreement that "something" is coming. If that's the case should there be bickering about trolling and anonymous posts? Just saying...

About Me

As part of research for my book Unveiling the Apocalypse: Prophecy in Catholic Tradition, I studied the Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic languages before graduating in 2006 with First Class honours. My book is the product of around ten years of original research. This blog is intended as a means of supplementing the material presented in the book by providing relevant up-to-date information.